Solar panels serve to either heat a fluid or to convert solar radiation into electricity (e.g., photovoltaic panels). U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,927, incorporated herein by this reference, discloses a solar concentrator which both generates electricity and heats water flowing in pipes adjacent a solar cell array.
The known prior art regarding such hybrid systems, however, involves rather complex specialized designs which cannot be used in conjunction with commercially available photovoltaic panels. The prior art also fails to maximize the surface area of the heat transfer fluid contacting the photovoltaic panel. Moreover, the prior art typically involves complex and expensive designs.
Early hybrid systems focused on the individual photovoltaic cell. U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,031, incorporated herein by this reference, discloses a design which seeks to maximize the efficiency of the photovoltaic cell. U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,221, also incorporated herein by this reference, discloses a hybrid collector that allows electric energy in addition to thermal energy to be collected by air and liquid. The design is complex and difficult to manufacture. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,029,656; 6,080,927; 4,095,997; 4,392,008; and 6,630,622, all incorporated herein by this reference, also disclose some form of a hybrid system.